Tag: snowpack
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Snowstorm offers little relief as Colorado snowpack ranks among worst on record
A late-season snowstorm may look like relief, but it can’t salvage a historically bad snowpack year. While it’s too early to measure Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s storm’s impact, water experts said a single snowstorm won’t reverse months of below-average snowpack. “This year is proving difficult to quantify,” Brad Udall, senior water and climate research scholar at…
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All of Colorado enters drought status for first time since 2021
For the first time since December 2021, all of Colorado is in a drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor published on Thursday. The Pikes Peak region was the only part of the state that was not in a drought until this week, when parts of El Paso, Fremont, Pueblo and Teller counties moved…
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Amid record low snowpack, Colorado cities impose restrictions, farmers brace for ‘disaster’
By Mary Shinn and Savannah Eller In the West, water is for fighting, but this year, for many, there might not be much to battle over. The critical snowpack that sustains cities, farmers and ranchers is the lowest in memory. Some areas in the high country were barren at the start of the month. Cities,…
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Colorado ski resorts announce early closures amid historic snowpack lows, high temperatures
Vail Resorts is the latest area to announce season closure Wednesday As Colorado’s historically low snowpack year comes to a close and spring conditions take over the mountains, the state’s major ski resorts are announcing closing dates — some of which are weeks before historic closing dates. Most of Colorado’s ski resorts did not get…
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Colorado’s ‘best beach’ may not appear this year because of low snowpack
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in Camping, colorado news, environment, Hiking, Lifestyle, News, Outdoors, Things to Do, travel, WeatherMedano Creek — a seasonal waterway that cuts directly next to Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes — may not have enough snow runoff to reach its usual location. Visitors to Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park this spring and early summer may miss out on a surreal seasonal attraction. Due to a dry winter with below-average…
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Colorado Springs Utilities Board approves drought resolution as conditions worsen
The Colorado Springs Utilities Board unanimously approved a drought response resolution Wednesday that allows the city to make operational changes to shore up its water supply amid dry and warm conditions that are expected to continue. The resolution also allows Utilities to increase messaging to customers about how they can lower water consumption as the…
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After ‘winter of defeat,’ Colorado hopes for wetter summer
With snowpack melt already peaking in some parts of the state and drought conditions worsening compared to last year, Colorado’s water watchers are hoping for a wetter summer, though they anticipate the situation deteriorating before getting better. Meanwhile, the governor has convened a drought task force, which was last constituted six years ago. There was…
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Colorado snowpack falls to record low with slim chance of recovery
Since the snowpack in Colorado has fallen to the lowest level in modern record-keeping, the chances of catching back up are slim. Across the state, snowpack, a measure of the water in the snow, is 55% of average, the lowest going back to the 1980s, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. At this point,…
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Colorado Springs bucks typical weather patterns with warm start to year
Colorado Springs ended 2025 on a hot streak and that doesn’t look to cease anytime soon. After tying the warmest mean temperature on record for December, the city recorded a record high for the first day of the year at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. For December, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported that Colorado Springs averaged…
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Record-setting November snowstorm brings some drought relief to Colorado
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save After an abnormally warm summer and fall, November’s snow has helped relieve Colorado drought conditions, particularly in the southeastern corner of the state. The major storm that started on Election Day and set a 30-year record for November snowfall on Pikes Peak also dropped several…